Champagne Moments

Your horse might have just won its first race. That letter from NS&I might have finally fluttered through the letter box. Your first child may have made its entry into the world

As a cricket coach for a couple of junior teams at a very modest village level, I used to have what was effectively a man of the match award but it was called the ‘Champagne Moment’. It was not
awarded for who scored the most runs or who took the most wickets. It was awarded to the player who had done something amazing. It did not necessarily have to be an action. It could have been a
set of circumstances or even an amusing comment.

It might have been when young Jimmy at square leg forlornly stuck out an arm and the ball travelling horizontally on its way to the boundary stuck to his hand. It could have been when Craig
against all the odds and contrary to a season of indifferent batting suddenly came out of his shell and lofted the bowler straight back over the boundary. It might even have been that desperate
moment when both batsmen are marooned in the middle but the opposition manage to hurl the ball at the stumps, miss the wicket and provide four overthrows.

Instances of stunning athleticism, acts of astonishing alacrity where the perpetrator has seemingly anticipated what is about to happen and then managed to somehow get to the right position and
do the right thing are etched onto our subconscious.

They are indelible. Interestingly they always seem to take place in the sunshine.

So what is it that you need to acknowledge or commemorate a ‘Champagne Moment’?

Yes. You need champagne.

Champagne is the drink that matches the moment.

My junior cricket players however were awarded a J2O which as far as they were concerned was probably better.